Werewolf and Vampire Mate [Book 1 Complete]

special chapter four.

Harper

It is a strange feeling, to realize that everything you thought you knew about the world is wrong.

Werewolves are real. And I have to wonder what else is out there, what other fables and fairytale creatures are lurking in the night.

"This is insane," I breathe as April and Reed trudge away, back toward the car. I am left in the dark forest with North.

He stands close to me, warmth radiating off him.

"You said you were born like this," I say. "So you've always been a werewolf?"

He nods. "Werewolves can't be turned, like in the movies. You're either born one or you're not."

"April said you needed to tell me something else."

His face hardens and my stomach twists. "Harper...I lied to you," he admits. "I don't go to Yale. I'm not studying engineering. I made that up."

Disappointment crashes through me—what else has he lied about?

"Why?" I ask, a crack in my voice. "Why lie about those things?"

He reaches for my hands, holding them tightly. "I wanted to be close to you. I wanted you to like me..."

"You hardly even knew me though. Why were you so interested in me?"

Now, he hesitates and I tug on his hands, urging him to answer.

"Do you believe in fate, Harper?"

My face scrunches up. "No."

"I do. Fate is real—for werewolves, anyway. We are born knowing that one day we will fall in love with our soulmate." He speaks slowly, carefully, like each word has meaning and significance. "Every werewolf has a person that is theirs. Most of the time werewolves find their soulmate in another werewolf. But sometimes...a werewolf's mate is human." He steps closer till my head tilts up to keep looking at him. Brown hair curls over his forehead, his expression sincere and resolute. "You are my soulmate, Harper. I knew it the moment I saw you. We were always going to find each other, one way or another, because we're supposed to be together."

Panic tightens my throat and I yank back from him, stumbling away. "Stop it."

"Harper–"

"No!" I hold my hand up, ceasing his approach toward me. "You don't get to tell me that my future is already planned for me! I get to make that choice, not you! No one is going to tell me who I can love. Especially not some guy I just met."

"Some guy you just met?" He repeats, his voice biting. "You're going to tell me that you didn't feel something intense for me, something you've never felt before?"

I hate that he's right and it makes me cruel. "I never want to see you again."

I turn away from him and begin marching back through the forest, in the direction of the car, trying to choke down an onslaught of tears.

I liked North so much. And werewolves being real invigorates me in a way nothing really has before. But the thought of my choice being stripped away from me, of having no option but to love someone, makes me panicky. My entire life I have hated the pressure of being forced to do things. Maybe it's the undiagnosed ADHD that April is convinced I have or maybe it's the fact that I've been forced to be something I'm not to make my dad proud, but either way...I won't do this. I won't let North force me into being solely his.

So I leave him behind in the forest and I don't look back.

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